THIS humorous old song fell from the hand of the witty Dr. Corbet (afterwards Bishop of Norwich, &c.), and is printed from his Poëtica Stromata, 1648, 12mo. (compared with the third edition of his poems, 1672). It is there called "A proper new Ballad, entitled, The Fairies Farewell, or God-a-mercy Will, to be sung or whistled to the tune of The Meddow Brow, by the learned; by the unlearned, to the tune of Fortune." The departure of Fairies is here attributed to the abolition of monkery: Chaucer has, with equal humour, assigned a cause the very reverse, in his "Wife of Bath's Tale." "In olde dayes of the King Artour, Of which that Bretons speken gret honour, All was this lond fulfilled of faerie; The elt-quene, with hire joly compagnie Danced ful oft in many a grene mede. This was the old opinion as I rede; I speke of many hundred yeres ago; But now can no man see non elves mo, For now the grete charitee and prayeres Of limitoures and other holy freres, That serchen every land and every streme, As thikke as motes in the sonne beme, Blissing halles, chambres, kichenes, and boures, Citees and burghes, castles high, and toures, Dr. Richard Corbet, having been bishop of Oxford about three years, and afterwards as long bishop of Norwich, died in 1635, ætat 52. Lament, lament old Abbies, The fairies lost command; But some have chang'd your land: At morning and at evening both. These prettie ladies had. When Tom came home from labour, Or Ciss to milking rose, Witness those rings and roundelayes Of theirs, which yet remaine; Were footed in Queene Maries dayes On many a grassy playne. But since of late Elizabeth And later James came in; They never danc'd on any heath, As when the time hath bin. By which wee note the fairies Their dances were procession. Or else they take their ease. A tell-tale in their company Now they have left our quarters; A man both wise and grave. Are kept in store; con twenty thanks **After these songs on the fairies, the reader may be curious to see the manner in which they were formerly invoked and bound 20 to human service. In Ashmole's collection of MSS. at Oxford [Num. 8259, 1406, 2,] are the papers of some Alchymist, which contain a variety of Incantations and Forms of Conjuring both Fairies, Witches, and Demons, principally, as it should seem, to assist him 25 in his great work of transmuting metals. Most of them are too impious to be reprinted; but the two following may be very innocently laughed at. Whoever looks into Ben Jonson's "Alchy30 mist," will find that these imposters, among their other secrets, affected to have a power over Fairies: and that they were commonly expected to be seen in a crystal glass appears from that extraordinary book, "The Relation of Dr. John Dee's action with Spirits, 1659," folio. 35 40 45 "An excellent way to gett a Fayrie. (For myself I call Margarett Barrance; but this will obteine any one that is not allready bownd.) "First, gett a broad square christall or Venice glasse, in length and breadth three inches. Then lay that glasse or christall in the bloud of a white henne, three Wednesdayes, or three Fridayes. Then take it out, and wash it with holy aq. and fumigate it. Then take three hazle sticks, or wands of an yeare groth; pill them fayre and white; and make them' soe longe, as you write the Spiritts name, or Fayries name, which you call, three times on every sticke being made 50 flatt on one side. Then bury them under some hill, whereas you suppose Fayries haunt, the Wednesday before you call her: and the Friday followinge take them uppe, and call her at eight or three or ten of the 55 clocke, which be good planetts and houres for that turne: but when you call, be in cleane life, and turne thy face towards the east. And when you have her, bind her to that stone or glasse." “An unguent to annoynt under the eyelids, and upon the eyelids eveninge and morninge: but especially when you call; or find your sight not perfect. "R. A pint of sallet-oyle, and put it into a viall glasse: but first wash it with rosewater, and marygold-water: the flowers 'to' be gathered towards the east. Wash it till the oyle come white; then put it into the glasse, ut supra: and then put thereto the budds of holyhocke, the flowers of marygold, the flowers or toppes of wild thime, the budds of young hazle: and the thime must be gathered neare the side of a hill where Fayries use to be: and 'take' the grasse of a fayrie throne, there. All these put into the oyle, into the glasse: and set it to dissolve three dayes in the sunne, and then keep it for thy use; ut supra.” After this receipt for the unguent follows a Form of Incantation, wherein the Alchy mist conjures a Fairy, named Elaby Gathon, to appear to him in that chrystall glass, meekly and mildly; to resolve him truly in all manner of questions; and to be obedient to all his commands, under pain of damnation, &c. One of the vulgar opinions about Fairies is, that they cannot be seen by human eyes, without a particular charm exerted in favour of the person who is to see them: and that they strike with blindness such as, having the gift of seeing them, take notice of them mal a-propos. As for the hazle sticks mentioned above, they were to be probably of that species called the "Witch Hazle;" which received its name from this manner of applying it in incantations. THE END OF BOOK THE SECOND. SERIES THE THIRD. BOOK III. I. The Birth of St. George. THE incidents in this, and the other ballad, lar romance were written so early as the of "St. George and the Dragon," are chiefly Faery Queen. taken from the old story-book of the Seven Champions of Christendome; which, though now the plaything of children, was once in high repute. Bp. Hall, in his satires, published in 1597, ranks “St. George's sorell, and his cross of blood," among the most popular stories of his time; and an ingenious critic thinks that Spenser himself did not disdain to borrow hints from it;* though I much doubt whether this popu Mr. Wharton. Vid. Observations on the Fairy Queen, 2 vcl. 1762, 12mo. passim. The author of this book of the Seven Champions was one Richard Johnson, who lived in the reigns of Elizabeth and James, as we collect from his other publications; viz.—“The nine worthies of London: 1592,” 4to.-"The pleasant walks of Moor fields: 1607," 4to.-"A crown garland of Goulden and death of Rob. Cecill, E. of Salisbury, Roses, gathered, &c.: 1612," 8vo.-"The life 1612," 4to.-"The Hist. of Tom of Lincoln,” 4to., is also by R. J., who likewise reprinted "Don Flores of Greece," 4to. The Seven Champions, though written in a wild inflated style, contains some strong Gothic painting; which seems for the most part, copied from the metrical romances of former ages. At least the story of St. George and the fair Sabra is taken almost verbatim from the old poetical legend of "Sir Bevis of Hampton." This very antique poem was in great fame in Chaucer's time [see above pag. 352], and is so continued till the introduction of printing, when it ran through several editions, two of which are in black-letter, 4to., "imprinted by Wyllyam Copland," without date; containing great variations. As a specimen of the poetic powers of this very old rhymist, and as a proof how closely the author of the Seven Champions has followed him, take a description of the dragon slain by Sir Bevis. 66 Whan the dragon, that foule is, As it had thondred in the sky; ... Sir Bevis's dragon is evidently the parent of that in the Seven Champions, see Chap. III., viz.-"The dragon no sooner had a sight of him [St. George] but he gave such a terrible peal, as though it had thundered in the elements. . . . Betwixt his shoulders and his tail were fifty feet in distance, his scales glistering as bright as silver, but far more hard than brass; his belly of the colour of gold, but bigger than a tun. Thus weltered he from his den, &c. . . . The champion gave the dragon such a thrust with his spear, that it shivered in a thousand pieces: whereat the furious dragon so fiercely smote him with his venomous tail, that down fell man and horse: in which fall two of St. George's ribs were so bruised, &c.-At length. . . . St. George smote the dragon under the wing where it was tender without scale, whereby his good sword Ascalon with an easie passage went to the very hilt through both the dragon's heart, liver, bone, and blood. Then St. George cut off the dragon's head, and pitcht it upon the truncheon of a spear, &c." The History of the Seven Champions, being written just before the decline of books of chivalry, was never, I believe, translated into any foreign language: but Le Roman de Beuves of Hantonne" was published at Paris in 1502, 4to., Let. Gothique. 66 The learned Selden tells us, that about the time of the Norman invasion was Bevis famous with the title of Earl of Southampton, whose residence was at Duncton in Wilt-. shire but he observes, that the monkish enlargements of his story have made his very existence doubted. See Notes on Poly-Olbion, After a long fight, at length, as the dragon Song III. was preparing to fly, Sir Bevis "Hit him under the wynge, This hath also been the case of St. George himself, whose martial history is allowed to be apocryphal. But, to prove that there really existed an orthodox Saint of this name (although little or nothing, it seems, is known of his genuine story), is the subject of “An Historical and Critical Inquiry into the Existence and Character of St. George, &c. By the Rev. J. Milner, F.S.A., 1792, 8vo." The Equestrian Figure worn by the Knights of the Garter, has been understood to be an emblem of the Christian warrior, in his spiritual armour, vanquishing the old serpent. But on this subject the inquisitive reader And put it on a spere: &c." Sign K. iv. | may consult "A Dissertation on the Original of the Equestrian Figure of the George and of the Garter, ensigns of the most noble order of that name. Illustrated with copper-plates. By John Pettingal, A.M., Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London, 1753," 4to. This learned and curious work the author of the Historical and Critical Inquiry would have done well to have seen. It cannot be denied, but that the following ballad is for the most part modern: for which reason it would have been thrown to the end of the volume, had not its subject procured it a place here. And when to him the fearful cause With kindest speech he strove to heal 35 Be comforted, my lady dear, Those pearly drops refrain; Betide me weal, betide me woe, I'll try to ease thy pain. And for this foul and fearful dream, Then giving many a fond embrace, To the weird lady of the woods, Full long and many a day, 40 45 50 Thro' lonely shades, and thickets rough He winds his weary way. At length he reach'd a dreary dell With dismal yews o'erhung; |